Kansas’ running back room just took a hit that could reshape the offense for the rest of the season.
Yasin Willis, the Syracuse transfer who was injured in KU’s loss to Arizona State in London on Sept. 19, has undergone surgery and is out indefinitely. Lance Leipold said Monday that a return this season is “probably leaning toward doubtful.” Willis had been productive before the injury, logging 27 carries for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
His absence lands hard because Kansas was already thin. Justin Thurman is out for the year, and Kory Amachree is dealing with his own long-term injury. “That’s three scholarship running backs that are out for the season, so it’s an unfortunate thing right now,” Leipold said.
That leaves Dylan Edwards as the centerpiece. The Kansas State transfer has handled 30 carries for 159 yards and added nine catches for 68 yards.
Against Arizona State, he got 18 carries, which matched the second-highest total of his four-year career. With Kansas entering a stretch of nine straight games without a bye beginning Saturday morning against Middle Tennessee, Edwards is going to be asked to do more than he has before.
“And I think Dylan really embraces that,” Leipold said. “He wants the touches, he wants the opportunities.
Now, what do those touches look like and how are we going to do that? That can be in a lot of different ways, as we know.”
The challenge now is figuring out how to keep him fresh while still feeding him enough work. Leipold pointed to the long run ahead and the need to be careful with total reps.
“That’s going to be something that I’m sure it’s going to be a challenge and we’re going to have to be smart on total reps,” Lepiold said. “I don’t like using load management, but there’s probably something to that.
We’ll look at how much we continue to use him in kick return, things like that. Dylan’s going to have a big role in this program, just like we thought he would from the day he arrived.”
There is at least one possible boost on the way. Colorado State transfer Jalen Dupree missed much of the offseason because of injury and then got banged up in practice shortly before the London trip, which kept him to special-teams work against Arizona State. Leipold said Dupree is “moving better now” and will be available going forward.
Beyond Edwards and Dupree, Kansas is looking at walk-ons and reserves to help patch things together. Micah Johnson carried twice against the Sun Devils, and scholarship reserve John Kelly is also in the mix.
The Jayhawks also added another body on Monday: Kennesaw State transfer Chase Belcher. He is a fifth-year player who received eligibility through an injunction in Indiana and brings a long résumé, with 242 carries for 1,299 yards and 49 catches for 530 yards, along with 12 total touchdowns, across time at Northern Arizona, West Georgia and Kennesaw State.
Kansas has also shifted safety Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman to running back and given him some reps there as it searches for depth.
“We’ll continue to evaluate that situation to add to depth in that room,” Leipold said.
Cummings-Coleman, an Iowa State transfer, has barely factored on defense early this season. He played six snaps against Long Island and none against Missouri or Long Island, working mostly on special teams.
Part of that has been the emergence of Mississippi State transfer Elijah Cannon, who has taken over as the starting nickel back. Leipold called Cannon “one of the bigger surprises, I think, in our program right now.”
Cummings-Coleman’s background makes the move intriguing. As a senior at Coon Rapids High School in Minnesota, he set school records for single-season and single-game receiving yards and also rushed 31 times for 207 yards. He is listed at 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds.
Defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald has said he wants a second nickel back alongside Cannon, so Cummings-Coleman’s move away from defense could open the door for others at that spot, including Mason Ellis and Syeed Gibbs when healthy.
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